Stalled I-10 project set to begin again

Construction idle for 6 months after project hits snag

Construction is set to begin again by the last week of March or first week in April along Interstate 10 East near New Braunfels Avenue.

Construction is set to begin again by the last week of March or first week in April along Interstate 10 East near New Braunfels Avenue.

The project began in September 2013, but stopped one week later after a problem was discovered.

"Essentially, we were going to move some traffic onto the shoulder area and we found out that the shoulder wasn't rated to carry the kind of traffic load that we were going to be putting on it," said TXDOT spokesman Josh Donat.

That sent TXDOT back to the drawing board to do forensic work and study the road to plan how to safely divert traffic. TXDOT also had to renegotiate contracts with the crews doing the work.

In the meantime, the lack of progress but presence of a lane closure and construction barrels has been frustrating for drivers like Tina Neish.

"We don't see anything happening," Neish said. "As long as there's lane closures, we understand improvements need to be made but there's nothing going on."

The goal of the construction is to lower the road because overpasses in the area keep getting hit.

"A couple of them keep getting smacked by trucks over the last couple of years," Donat said. "So, the idea of this project is to actually lower the elevation of the roadway up to about 3 feet to create some clearance under those bridges."

As construction begins again in the coming weeks, two lanes will remain open in each direction of I-10.

While drivers will still see a slow down in the area, they should also see progress.

"Whatever they're going to do, let's go ahead and do it," Neish said. "Let's get it improved so we can keep going home quickly."

The estimated cost of the project was $12 million before the problem was discovered. The revised cost added another $1 million, but Donat said that money was already in the budget for TXDOT.

About the Author:

It has been Myra's long-time goal to anchor and report in her hometown, and being able to do that as part of the KSAT 12 News team is a real dream come true. San Antonio is home for Myra. She graduated from high school in the Alamo City and went on to earn a journalism degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.